To celebrate American Heart Month and our Healthy Hearts Challenge, every day this week we’re posting a quick tip to help you eat for a healthier heart. Here’s today’s tip:

Tip 1: Eat These 6 Purple Foods to Help Your Blood Pressure.

Research shows that people who eat blue and purple fruits and vegetables—blueberries, plums, purple cabbage, black currants, eggplant and purple grapes—have a reduced risk for high blood pressure and low HDL cholesterol (that’s the good kind). Scientists believe that anthocyanins, the compounds that give purple foods their color, are responsible for these boons. Blue and purple foods make up only about 3 percent of the average American’s fruit and veggie intake, so aim to eat more.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans: on average, one person dies every 39 seconds, according to recently published data from the American Heart Association.

I've talked in the past about cutting back on saturated fat (found mostly in animal-based products like red meat and full-fat dairy), added sugars and sodium for better heart health. Keep working at those!

Most of us eat too much sugar. On average, Americans consume 475 calories of added sugars EVERY DAY (that’s 30 teaspoons). Compare this with the American Heart Association’s recommendation that American women limit their added sugars to no more than 100 calories (or 6 teaspoons) of added sugars per day and men consume no more than 150 calories (9 teaspoons) daily.

If you’re trying to cut back on added sugars in your diet, you’ve probably already tackled the obvious sources. Sugar-sweetened beverages like soft drinks, energy and sports drinks along with fruit drinks account for almost half of Americans’ added-sugars consumption. Desserts like cakes,...

When it comes to choosing what to eat, I like to get a lot of nutritional bang for my buck, so to speak. The best deals? “Superfoods” that are far more plentiful in nutrients than they are in calories and that research has shown deliver health benefits. You’re probably already eating a lot of everyday superfoods—like bananas, eggs and broccoli—and maybe even some exotic ones (acai, anyone?).
Don’t Miss: 10 Everyday Superfoods That Should Be in Your Kitchen

But what about the power-packed foods filled with good-for-you vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting phytochemicals you aren’t eating? Rather than rattling off a laundry list of every fiber-rich, antioxidant-packed, vitamin-saturated...